Review: Atelier Lulua: The Scion of Arland (PS4)

The long-running Atelier series from publisher Koei Tecmo
and developer Gust has been a consistent source of charming,
good-spirited wholesomeness that overflows with cuteness. While there
have been many sub-series with their own unique characters, it’s been
rare for an Atelier series to get more than three releases, and that’s just what happened with Atelier Lulua. Set years after the last game in the Arland series, which debuted roughly ten years ago, Lulua is primed to please both old and new fans of the series. Does the latest game hold up well? Read on to find out!

The visuals in Atelier Lulua: The Scion of Arland are
pretty much what you’d expect from a franchise that has seen a major
release basically every year for over two decades. While there aren’t
many changes or improvements, the Atelier charm is here in full force, and be ready for tons of cute.

Character
models, face animations and expressions, environments, and of course
monsters – everything is oozing in a ridiculous cuteness it sort of
makes it a complete package. The games have always come off as JRPGs but
with girls as the star, and Lulua has that same girlish charm.

I’m
by no means a stickler for bleeding edge graphics, but if you’re
expecting crazy details or intricate cutscenes, you’re not getting that
in this game. Atelier has always been about a down to earth
story focused on a small set of characters, so the focus is on nailing
that series’ simple visual charm.

The Atelier series has been primarily centered on the item-synthesis process of alchemy, and Lulua
naturally follows this without skipping a beat. From the get-go, you’re
once again thrust into managing your master’s atelier workshop after
they leave for work, and you get crafting right away.

The typical gameplay loop in Lulua consists
of getting some kind of quest or objective, going to gather materials
to synthesize something, fighting some monsters, and returning to craft
the item. Once you get into the rhythm, it’s quite addicting to go out,
farm for materials, fight some baddies, and then come home to unwind and
make things.

There are some new changes to battles, most notably
the Interrupt ability, which lets characters use their special Interrupt
Skill and a pre-equipped item, outside their normal turn. Once the
gauge is full after dishing out some attacks, you can activate this
skill and use the pre-equipped item without consuming it, giving you a
pretty big advantage.

The
overall makeup of your party has changed a bit too, as previous games
have used parties of six, made up of three pairs, each with an attacker
and a supporter. Now, there are three standalone attackers and two
support characters. I felt like this changeup helped battles flow a bit
quicker, and I was breezing through monsters at that point.

There
are also unique skills you can use to hit enemy weaknesses, like the
Range Shift skill from Eva, which expands her area of attack for a few
turns. These skills can also help you unlock the secrets behind the
Alchemy Riddle, an ongoing cipher like system you have to unlock to get
more knowledge from the mysterious book that only Lulua can read.

Overall,
the game is mostly an extremely comfy experience that you can just sit
back and enjoy. Coming from this, if you’re used to JRPGs where you have
to grind endlessly to beat the next difficult boss – that isn’t really
the case here. It’s not that the game has no challenge, it can just be
effortless if you’re used to JRPGs. The book cipher puzzles can also be a
bit too easy.

As this is sort of a return to form for the series
after the previous spinoff game, it can feel a bit same-y for returning
players. This is not necessarily a bad thing as the game is overall a
great and rewarding experience. There are the aforementioned changes but
aside from that, this is simply more cute and fun Atelier adventuring. There’s less time management stuff as well.

The story in Atelier Lulua follows
the new protagonist, Elmerulia, who mostly goes by the less awkward
name Lulua. She’s the daughter of the famous alchemist Rorona, and the
apprentice of the alchemist Piana. Lulua’s biggest wish is to surpass
her mom, despite living in a small town on the frontiers of the Arland
Republic. This is a story of growth for Lulua, as she has much to
improve.

The easy way to describe Lulua is the scrappy youngster
with a chip on her shoulders, forever trying to impress her colleagues
and of course – her mom. She gets frustrated easily and can have moments
of doubt, but quickly buckles down and tries to continue on. Despite
her lack of experience, she discovers a mysterious book that only she
can read, and it holds many secrets.

Deciphering
the book is a core part of the game, as most of your adventures and
goals are focused on finding clues to unlocking each section’s cipher.
These can range from going to certain areas, collecting certain items,
using various skills, and fighting certain monsters. The book not only
reveals new alchemy recipes, but also secrets behind the entirety of
Arland itself.

As this is the fourth entry in the Arland sub-series and a sequel to Atelier Meruru,
you’re probably wondering if you can just hop into this release, let
alone the Atelier series in general – as there are a ton of games. I’d
say with each game having its own story and this one focusing on
Rorona’s daughter, you can jump right in and not need much exposition.

The soundtrack in Atelier Lulua is,
as expected, overflowing with cuteness and happy feelings. There is an
insurmountable amount of charm and good spirit in this soundtrack I
think it would warm even the blackest of hearts, but perhaps some people
are beyond saving. It really is just an amazingly cute and so well
done, like the previous Atelier games.

The variety of
instruments in the soundtrack is actually quite nice, despite the
majority of songs focusing on nailing that absurdly cute feeling and
atmosphere. I’d say the soundtrack matches the innocence and sort of
bumbling nature of Lulua herself, and it had me bopping my head through
all the locales and events. The world themes in particular were quite
awesome.

The voice acting in Atelier Lulua is a constant
thing, and its various characters are voiced by some talented Japanese
folks. There is no English dub, so if you’re not into Japanese women
going nuts over frivolous things like what ingredients to use in a new
recipe, you might not be able to withstand the levels of cute in this
game.

Atelier Lulua: The Scion of Arland is a return to form after the previous game, Nelke & the Legendary Alchemists, experimented with town management alongside some alchemy mechanics. Some fans were not into that game, and that’s fine, but Atelier Lulua is more of the same cuteness and fun the series has been known for, with some welcome changes.

If
you’re looking for a laid back, cute and comfy Japanese RPG with an
overwhelming amount of cuteness, you should consider picking up Atelier Lulua. If
you’re not into super cute anime girls voiced by also cute Japanese
voice actors, I’m not sure what else can fill that hole in your heart.
If you’ll excuse me, I’ve got some more alchemy to do.